Look inside: Beaufort PD use-of-force rules explained after chaotic incident caught on video
After a widely-shared cellphone video sparked allegations of excessive force, the Beaufort Police Department began an internal review of multiple officers’ actions during a chaotic string of arrests Thanksgiving night.
As part of the investigation, department higher-ups will review videos of their own: body camera footage from each officer involved in the Nov. 28 incident. Officials have not specified how many officers responded to the call, which began as a traffic stop for suspected driving under the influence near downtown Beaufort.
The agency’s “response to resistance” policy does not describe specific methods for dealing with resistant suspects, but the four-page document offers a look into how the process works — and how police decide when an officer has crossed the line.
What counts as an officer’s ‘response to resistance’?
Under their general orders manual, Beaufort police requires an internal investigation if any of the following occur during an officer’s duty:
- An officer displays, points or fires their gun, excluding training and recreational purposes
- An officer’s actions are believed to have injured or killed another person
- An officer applies force through lethal or “less-than-lethal” weapons
- An officer applies weaponless lethal force “at a level as defined by the agency”
Not all types of physical force meet the standard for departmental review. The manual’s criteria excludes any officer response that has “little to no chance of producing injuries when gaining control over or subduing non-combative individuals,” such as physically touching, gripping, handcuffing, escorting and searching suspects.
The manual allows the Beaufort Police Department to set their own benchmark for the level of physical force that triggers an internal review. Chief of Police Stephenie Price did not immediately respond to an email asking how her agency defines that limit, or whether all officers involved in the Nov. 28 incident had their bodycams and dashcams turned on.
Mirroring national law enforcement standards, the manual prohibits Beaufort officers from using neck restraints, choke holds and “head blows” to resistant suspects, unless officers “reasonably believe” the response is their only way to avoid serious injury or death for themselves or another person.
How the review process works
As a first step, all details of the incident and the officer’s response to resistance are documented on a “control of person’s report,” the manual says.
The Beaufort Police Department’s shift supervisor then does a “preliminary review of the incident” before passing the case file to a division supervisor for another review.
Master Sgt. Benjamin Brooks, the department’s liaison for professional standards, would then conduct a “documented analysis” of the incident, likely reaching a conclusion on whether the officer’s response was justified.
Those findings are sent to Chief Price, who decides whether the incident involved a violation of the department’s standards. If so, a disciplinary process or a criminal indictment could follow.
The manual also requires a yearly review of all use-of-force incidents to identity any patterns related to suspects’ race, age and gender. If a pattern arises showing bias for certain groups, Beaufort police might need to modify its policies, upgrade equipment or retrain officers.
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 2:33 PM.
